Marketing Week back issues from October 2006:
Tesco under fire for leaving shoppers open to card fraud.(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Consumer group Which? is accusing Tesco of allowing a "security loophole" at some of the retailer's self-service checkouts to leave shoppers vulnerable to fraud. The organisation claims it has been contacted by "several angry people" who found themselves "hundreds of pounds ...
Branson faces fines over no show of Megastores accounts.(Richard Branson is facing fines after two of his companies)(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Billionaire Sir Richard Branson is facing fines after two of his companies, Virgin Entertainment Asia and Virgin Retail, which control the Virgin Megastores chain of entertainment shops, failed to present their accounts to Companies House. However, the "late filing" penalties ...
Coca-Cola may ditch water plans after sourcing fiasco.(introduction of Bottled drinking water)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Coca-Cola may be forced to delay its all-important launch into the bottled water market or, even worse, scrap it altogether. Coca-Cola is scheduled to launch a bottled water in the UK - filling a gaping hole in its portfolio - in the first quarter of next year (MW August 3) ....
Camelot plans skills-based games on back of new law.(Gambling Act 2005)(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... National Lottery operator Camelot is planning to launch games requiring an element of skill using a little-known change in the legal status of lotteries set out in the Gambling Act 2005. Some observers have speculated that this could lead to the launch of football pools-style ...
Mobile brand BenQ's UK future in doubt after insolvency claim.(advertising and contracts of BenQ Mobile brand and McCann Erickson)(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... A question mark is hanging over the future of the BenQ Mobile brand in the UK after the company pulled the plug on its German operation and filed for insolvency. Taiwan's BenQ took over Siemens' struggling mobile division last year but said last week that it could not afford ...
Fox's Biscuits launches ad push to back rebranding.(Fox's Biscuits advertising)(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Fox's Biscuits is taking on rival McVitie's with the launch of a new #1.3m advertising push to promote its product range, following an extensive brand overhaul. The campaign, consisting of TV and trade press ads, breaks next week featuring the strapline "A little less ...
T-Mobile plugs rivals in best signal pledge.(T-Mobile )(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... T-Mobile will recommend consumers choose a rival operator in areas where it has poor network coverage as part of a new customer retention drive being launched today (Wednesday). The Deutsche Telekom-owned brand will check its coverage in customers' favoured locations as part of ...
New campaign: Renault Scenic.
Oct 05, 2006 ... TX text intro Just textRenault is introducing its latest people carrier, the Grand Scenic 5 Seat, with a campaign featuring a child's passing fancies. Created by Publicis and breaking on October 6, the TV execution shows the young girl going through a series of ...
IN BRIEF: Carbon offset.(marketing)(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... The Co-operative Group's Travelcare business has become the first high- street retailer to offer 'carbon offset' tariffs for ...
IN BRIEF: T-Mobile launching new campaign.(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... T-Mobile is understood to be axing Catherine Zeta-Jones as the face of its advertising in the US after three years. It is thought the mobile giant, ...
IN BRIEF: L'Oreal boss outlines plans.(planning of L'Oreal S.A.)(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... L'Oreal boss Jean-Paul Agon has outlined plans to more than double the number of Body Shop outlets around the world after the ...
IN BRIEF: Tesco results.(sales and earnings)(Financial report)(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Tesco has unveiled six-month profits of #1.1bn, a rise of 10.3%, in the period ended August 26. The figures were significantly boosted ...
IN BRIEF: Nestle and Channel 4 break rules.(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... The Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that Nestle and Channel 4's 'Golden Ticket' Big Brother promotion technically broke its rules by not including all the conditions of entry - notably a closing date ...
PEOPLE: Travelsphere Holdings.(Travelsphere Holdings)(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Scottish Widows interim director of customer and brand Rob Rees has been handed the role of sales and ...
PEOPLE: Draft FCB.(new appointments at Draft London)(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Draft FCB has appointed Nigel Jones and John Minnec as co-presidents of the newly merged agency in the UK. Minnec was managing ...
PEOPLE: Bell Pottinger Sport & Sponsorship.(Bell Pottinger Sport & Sponsorship )(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Bell Pottinger Sport & Sponsorship has appointed Marc Harris as associate director of the company to head up its global ...
PEOPLE: EMAP Consumer Media.(Carrie Barker appointed at EMAP Consumer Media )(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... EMAP Consumer Media has appointed Carrie Barker as managing director of EMAP Australia. Barker was director of sales for magazines at EMAP ...
Gala Coral puts money on table in major bid for Tote.(Letter to the editor)
Oct 05, 2006 ... The future of the Tote brand and its marketing department could be in peril if it is sold to a rival such as Gala Coral, a leading betting analyst claims. The Government last week turned down a bid believed to be in the region of #320m for the Tote from a racing consortium, ...
New campaign: Barnardo's.(advertising)(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Barnardo's is highlighting the difficulties faced by children who look after sick or disabled family members in a direct response TV, radio and online campaign breaking this week. The work is the first for the children's charity through Archibald Ingall Stretton (AIS) and ...
Brandpool retains Southern account.(advertising)(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Train operator Southern has reinstated Brandpool, the agency behind the launch of the rail brand, to handle its #1m advertising and marketing account after a competitive four way pitch. It is not clear which other agencies were competing for the business in a pitch that began ...
Henkel moves Limelite into multi-purpose cleaner area.(marketing of Henkel )(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Henkel is pushing its limescale removal detergent brand Limelite into the multi-purpose cleaning market with the launch of a new range of products. The household product manufacturer, which last year generated global sales of nearly E12bn (#8.1m) is embarking on a #3m ...
Analysis: Furniture giants come unstuck as smaller players thrive.(growth of MFI furniture group)
Oct 05, 2006 ... MFI's sale of its retail arm for #1 to Merchant Equity Partners last week was a telling sign of just how threadbare some furniture specialists have become. Even Swedish flat-pack giant Ikea has taken a pounding, with recently announced pre-tax profits to August 2005 diving to #104m ...
All change at Innocent as European expansion starts.(Jamie Mitchell appointed at Innocent Drinks)(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Innocent Drinks, the maker of Innocent Smoothies, is recruiting a UK marketing director following the decision to promote Jamie Mitchell to the role of UK managing director. The move is part of a reshuffle that will see the three founders of the company, Richard Reed, Adam ...
Dutch bank signs Renault F1 sponsor deal.
Oct 05, 2006 ... ABN Amro, the Dutch financial services giant, is poised to sign a sponsorship deal with the Renault Formula 1 (F1) team. The Netherlands' largest global bank will replace cigarette brand and title sponsor Mild Seven. Anti-tobacco advertising laws mean the Japanese cigarette ...
RFU revamps England fans' club branding.(Rugby Football Union )(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is overhauling its England Rugby Supporters Club (ERSC) brand as it moves to strengthen its ties with the national team's official fan base. The club has unveiled a logo developed by Agency Inc, which was appointed to the RFU's creative account in ...
Analysis: Revlon needs more than cosmetic cuts.
Oct 05, 2006 ... Revlon has overhauled its executive team as part of a massive cost- cutting drive designed to stem losses, with brand marketing among the hardest hit areas at the company. Chief marketing officer Stephanie Klein Peponis and chief creative officer Rochell Udell are among the ...
IN BRIEF: Multiyork denies switch.(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Multiyork, the furniture retailer, has denied it is seeking to switch its #2.5m creative business out of ...
IN BRIEF: WPP appointment.(Robin O'Neill appointed at WPP investment arm Group M)(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... WPP investment arm Group M has appointed Media.com media director Robin O'Neill as head of online trading. The new role is designed to create a central point for the negotiation on of ...
IN BRIEF: Maternity Worldwide appoints new agency.(Spirit Advertising contracts)(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Spirit Advertising has been appointed to handle advertising for Maternity Worldwide. The charity was set up in the UK four years ago to ...
IN BRIEF: Butlins appoints direct marketing agency.(contracts)(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Fox Kalomaski has won the direct marketing account for Butlins. The business was previously held by Clark McKay & Walpole, ...
IN BRIEF: New direct marketing for Waitrose.(contracts)(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Kitcatt Nohr Alexander Shaw has been handed the direct marketing account for Waitrose following a pitch against Partners Andrews Aldridge and Archibald Ingall ...
IN BRIEF: Whole Foods Market to open store in London.(Liquid Communications Ltd contracts with Whole Foods Market Inc)(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Whole Foods Market, the US organic food retail chain due to open its first store in London later this year, has appointed Liquid ...
COI asks three to pitch for #12m voters' register task.(Electoral Commission )(Farm, Glue and Experience; Harrison Troughton Wonderman, Wheel and Manning Gottlieb OMD; and DFGW, Red Nomad and MindShare)(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... The Electoral Commission has invited three teams of agencies to pitch for a new campaign to get people to register to vote, in a switch away from its previous attempts to get consumers to go to the polls and vote. The change is likely to mean an end to the commission's ...
Yell pitch drags on as VCCP loses out.(Vallance Carruthers Coleman Priest contracts)(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Vallance Carruthers Coleman Priest (VCCP) looks to be out of the running for Yell's #20m advertising account, leaving Mother in pole position to scoop the business. However, mystery still surrounds the final outcome of the protracted review amid rumours of a rethink by the ...
Thistle Hotels calls creative review following restructure.(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Thistle Hotels, one of the UK's leading hotel chains, is reviewing its creative agency arrangements. The pitch is being led by sales and marketing director Stuart Leven, alongside marketing director Iain Richards, who reports to him. Several agencies are understood to be ...
Young's beer holds pitch for #2.5m account.(Farm)(Team Saatchi )(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Farm, Team Saatchi and an as-yet undecided third agency are being invited to pitch for the #2.5m advertising account for Young's beer. Farm currently holds the account, while Team Saatchi does creative work for sister brand Bombardier. Nigel McNally, managing director of the ...
NFU Mutual in rethink of #2m business.(NFU Mutual and Avon Group)(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... NFU Mutual, the insurance company founded by the National Farmers Union, is reviewing its #2m advertising account. The pitch is being overseen by Agency Insight. Nitro is the company's agency of record. It is not known if the agency will repitch. NFU Mutual was ...
Analysis: WPP gets to play with the world's biggest jukebox.(joint venture between GroupM and Universal Music)
Oct 05, 2006 ... WPP Group, the marketing services powerhouse, announced a deal last week between its consolidated media arm GroupM and Universal Music to push music even further into the mainstream of the advertising world, through a new joint venture called BrandAmp. It will work across ...
Online ad spend to exceed #2bn as figures jump 40%.(online advertising expenditure)(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Online advertising should break the #2bn barrier in 2006, according to Guy Phillipson, chief executive of the Internet Advertising Bureau UK, taking it well ahead of national press and closing the gap on TV. Phillipson says: "We can see online overtaking TV in terms of share ...
GM creates fictitious pop band to promote relaunched Corsa model.
Oct 05, 2006 ... General Motors(GM) Europe has created a "fake" band to promote its relaunched Vauxhall Corsa model. The band, The C.M.O.N.S, has already built a cult following online and on music network MTV, with two international record labels vying to sign it. However, GM's connection with ...
PHD North wins brief for menopause test launch.(menopause test kit )(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... PHD North has been handed the task of launching health company Novogen's Menopause Test Kit. The media agency won a pitch to provide planning and buying services, with the brand due to be backed by an initial burst of activity this autumn. Television and press will form the ...
IN BRIEF: London Underground seeking sponsor.(London Underground contracts with online directory Yell.com )(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... London Underground is seeking a #2.7m sponsor to replace online directory Yell.com on its iconic Harry ...
IN BRIEF: Contract Rights Renewal referred to OFT.( Office of Fair Trading)(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... ITV has referred its Contract Rights Renewal television trading safeguard to the Office of Fair Trading ...
IN BRIEF: Five sparks complaints.(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Five has sparked 70 complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority about teaser ads it is running ahead of the launch of digital channel Five ...
IN BRIEF: Premier Foods draws up shortlist.(contracts)(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Premier Foods has drawn up a shortlist of five agencies for its #15m media planning and buying account, shared by Walker Media and ZenithOptimedia. Both ...
IN BRIEF: Carat sets up dedicated team.(contracts)(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Carat is setting up a dedicated team to handle the #85m UK General Motors business, which its parent company Aegis won from Interpublic Group ...
IN BRIEF: Carat wins pan-European account.(Carat has won European media planning and buying account )(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Carat has won the #30m pan-European media planning and buying account for Indesit, the white goods manufacturer. The account ...
ITV fails to slow down PVR speeds and halt 'skipping'.(personal video recorders)(ITV PLC)(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... ITV has failed to have restrictions put on playback speeds offered by the forthcoming Freeview-branded personal video recorders (PVRs). The Freeview Playback equipment was announced in May and will compete with BSkyB's Sky+ service, which allows viewers to record programmes on ...
Tennent's sponsors Scottish teams.(Tennents Lager)(Scottish Football Association )(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Tennent's Lager is taking to the skies, with the first UK use of a revolutionary technology that will see ad images projected onto clouds. The system will be used this week to promote Tennent's new #8m four- year sponsorship deal with the Scottish Football Association (SFA) to ...
Npower invites consumers to 'punch' BG in viral skirmish.(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Npower is inviting consumers to "beat up" British Gas' blue flame character in a tongue-in-cheek viral game. The online game, called Gasbag Smackdown, has been created by Glasgow- based agency Dog Digital. It puts players in charge of a boxing glove in a virtual gym. They must ...
City AM launches headlines service for mobile users.(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... City AM, London's daily business freesheet, is entering the capital's free afternoon news war with the launch of a service delivering headlines directly to mobile phones. The City M Mobizine will fight it out in the capital with the two free newspapers, Associated's London ...
Ubisoft aims for young men with FX Channel Clancy deal.(Ubisoft contracts with FX)(Brief article)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Ubisoft, the computer games publisher, has signed a sponsorship deal with satellite channel FX to promote its range of Tom Clancy games. Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent will sponsor the ten-part thriller Sleeper Cell from this weekend, while Texas S.W.A.T. will be ...
Analysis: Agency unrest over e-auctions and hidden agendas.
Oct 05, 2006 ... Marketing experts fear a rise in the use of "e-auctions" during new business pitches will lead to the commoditisation of the industry. The Marketing Communication Consultants Association's (MCCA) procurement consultant Rosie Doggett warns that media will become a commodity ...
The digital future is fuzzy not clear thanks to TV technology.
Oct 05, 2006 ... Buying a new TV has never been so problematic, and the industry is as confused as shoppers - a worrying start for the post-analogue era Have you tried to buy a new television set recently? My faithful cathode-ray set still has a great picture after ten years, but it's not ...
LETTER: Stars will shine if the brand strategy is right.(Letter to the editor)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Jumping on the celebrity brand wagon is a risky business - stars have a nasty habit of imploding as soon as you sign them up - but their marketing value is undeniable as long as the branding strategy is right. Charles Vallance's warning (Stars in their eyes, MW September 21) ...
LETTER: Nothing free about an 0845 number.(Letter to the editor)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Your special report on Telemarketing (MW September 21) states "a free 0845 line". Nothing could be further from the truth. Telephone numbers beginning with 0845 are charged at non-geographic rates and now defined by Ofcom as part of a series of "number translation services". ...
LETTER: Should be the callers biting back.(Letter to the editor)
Oct 05, 2006 ... I read with interest your special report on Telemarketing and in particular Paul Gardner's comments about the DMA's involvement in establishing new outbound call regulations when he said "agents and employers will be keen to see if the watchdog has teeth". While any attempt to ...
LETTER: Don't just inform staff - show them the way.(Letter to the editor)
Oct 05, 2006 ... I read with interest your article in Trends Insight on employee engagement (MW September 14). In service businesses (consumer and business) the attitude of frontline staff is always one of the top three factors in repeat purchase. Your article points out that there is a gap ...
LETTER: Promotions should be watching Big Brother.(Letter to the editor)
Oct 05, 2006 ... The recent media coverage of the Kit Kat Big Brother promotion should have heightened the industry's focus towards improved compliance. Last week programme makers were told off by the Advertising Standards Authority for not have proper independent supervision from end to end ...
LETTER: Motivation is about asking right questions.(Letter to the editor)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Further to your special report regarding motivation and just what it is that your employees want (MW September 14), I'd just like to add one simple point. We, as one of the leading recruitment consultancies specialising in the marketing sector, advise our clients to quite simply "ask ...
VIEWPOINT: Punter's friend could fall in sell-off gamble.
Oct 05, 2006 ... Now that the #320m racing consortium bid for the Tote has run out of puff, the rival Gala Coral contender is beginning to look a racing certainty at the finishing post. Can anything stop it? And, if not pipped, what will happen to the Tote as a result? First let's look at the ...
THE TOTE: Worth a gamble?
Oct 05, 2006; ... The Tote faces an uncertain future after the Government, which has pledged to off-load the state-owned betting firm, rejected a bid from within the industry. Now it could be sold to a private company, putting jobs at risk and alienating the racing fraternity. Robert Lester reports ...
THE TOTE: Peter Jones: From adland to Aintree.(services of Peter Jones)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Tote chairman Peter Jones started his career in advertising in 1964. Within five years, he had helped found one of the country's most famous agencies, Boase Massimi Pollitt (BMP), and was part of the team that created the Smash Martians campaign for Cadbury's - voted the UK's favourite ...
MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT: The new pitch perfect.
Oct 05, 2006 ... No longer willing to tolerate the supermarkets' undercutting, music and entertainment retailers HMV and Virgin have each devised plans to reconnect with consumers on a personal level. But will shoppers be convinced that there's more to buying CDs than price? David Benady reports ...
KFC: No appetite for change.(KFC Group)
Oct 05, 2006 ... Environmental concerns can no longer be ignored, and marketers should be at the forefront of a greener economy, says Rita Clifton When KFC brand manager Matthew Critchley left the fast-food company (MW last week) there were fears of a continuation in the recent trend of ...